By Zach Mentz
cleveland.com
DEARBORN, Mich. — An off-duty police officer saved a choking three-year-old boy this week in Dearborn, Michigan.
Melvindale Police Department officer Mohamed Hacham was at home Monday preparing to take a nap before his midnight shift began when he heard a commotion outside his house and on his police scanner. Hacham said when he heard reports of a choking three-year-old on a street near his house, he immediately jumped into action.
“I put the yelling and I put the radio dispatch together and I just bolted out the door,” Hacham told CBS Detroit.
Hacham, 25, said the boy’s body felt lifeless when he arrived at the scene, but he continued to perform life-saving measures.
“I get there and I get handed a baby, basically,” Hacham told ABC News. “And I was like, ‘This is my time. This is what I got trained to do at the police academy.
“In my head I was like, ‘He’s not dying in my hands.’ That’s not going to happen,” he added.
After a few minutes of delivering blows to the boy’s back, the child began to show signs of life. Dearborn Police officers and first responders arrived at the scene, and the child was rushed to a nearby hospital.
Fortunately, the boy is now back home with his family, according to WXYZ 7 in Detroit.
“It just makes you rethink everything. It makes you rethink the purpose of living and the purpose of being on this Earth,” Hacham said. “It’s for the little ones. And making sure they grow up having what they need.”
Hacham also received praise from his colleagues on the force for his heroic efforts.
“Great job to one of our newest Officers,” Melvindale Police Department said in a Facebook post. “Officer Hacham was off duty and heard the call saving a lifeless child in his neighborhood. Well done Officer Hacham, well done. You make all of us very proud to have you on our team.”
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